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Show Grounds to confirm our f &ilh, of their Spiritr dHty,and the homage which the Souls owe to God . in their hours of affiitfion; for as with us, though our Children and Servants cannot do the fame work as they do in Summer, nor polfibly fo much work,yct they do liS fame work ; fo though the .Spoufc nf Chrill in her Winter , doth not fcrve her Lord by the lame exercifes of grace as in her Summer , yet lhe hath a fervice which even then fhe performeth unto God. Then is the time w.hen patimce is to IJJve htr perjdJ work, Jam. 1. 3. Wbm the trial of her fa ith apprarJ more pr<cioul than that of Gold that perilheth, as Pettr fpeakerh; when fuc is to joy in tribulation , Rom. 5· to hope for that ,.bichjhe feeth not, Now God hath a great deal of honour from thefe exercifes of grace ; when Abrahambrlievediiz hope agai11jl hope , the Scripturo fa ith he gave glory to God, ar;d therdore the Lord will not fuJfcr the Spi rits of his people to fa il for this reafon, rhar he may not lofe his own Honour and Glory. Long afflictions tire and wallc the Spirits of the people of God ; We thought ( fay the Difciples going to Emaru , ) tbat thi1 jhould be be that jhculd bave redermed l}rael. He in whom they trll fied was in his Grace, ( as they thought,) and had been there three days, they begin to fail, thdr bclicvi rg wos red uced to a thinkir g; hence God promi feth that he will lay no more 11pon his pec ple tban he wiU enabl<them to bear; that he will witbtbrump. t~tio111 give a graciozu iffue, &c. The belt of Gods people are too too ll10rr-winded in their breathings after God, and we have an High-Prielt who can have comp•f!ion upon our infirmitiu, Secondly, That they may not put forth their bandllo commit iniqui'Y · Long trills as they ufually produce great abatemen ts in Spiritual exercifes, making, languifuing Hope, weak Faith, and a fainting Patience, fo they are temptations to fins. Oh, how many fad failings have hours of Trial produced in the belt of Gods people ! Now the Lord doth fuJfcr fome of hi• people thus to ilumble and Hide, that they may know that they are bur men, and that rhofe who tland had need take heed left they fall ; bur he will therefore l110rten their hours ofT rial, that they may not too foully fall , Pfalm 12 5· 3· Tbe Rod oftbewick.fdft;aU n•t reft upon the back,.'! the Rightmu,lejt the Righteou1 put fortb their band unto iniquity ; as Gods glory is conc.:rned here again,for he is honoured by hi sSaints exercife of grace; fo he is difuonoured by his r eoples Sins, and more by the Sins of his peo ~l e, than by thofe o other men. And thus I have lhcwed you the reafons on the behalf of the Church, why that 011r Winter fot~U pafs. why her Winter lhall be lhort. J.fuall fuew you alfo reafon on the behalf of the Churches enemies. The reafon (on their fide ) is the excej1 ofthdr '1l'ick,;d1ufi ; and their p•rticular rage ill the executing of God1 pleafure upo• hi1 pro" pie. The Prophet Habbak,_uk,. in his fad reflection upon rhat which God was about to do, to de(!roy his own people by the Babylonian!, breaks Otlt into this exprellion,H•h.1.1 ~· wherrfore dorj! thou l•ok,. ttpon them that deal treacheroufly, and 1,oldejl thy tongue when the wic~ed drvouretb the man th•t i1 mort righteoul tban bim{ tlf l This falleth out when·ever God giveth wtcked men a power over his people; and ordinarily God fo ordereth it, that perfecution i1 tbtco~trple mentof tbeirSin; and the time of perfecution is the time which God chuleth to bring tbe wickeJnr[lof the 'R'ick,;d to a perpetual md, accordi ng to David1 pr~yer, pf, J. 7. 9, Thu> it fell out to the Jenu, both as to their Captivity of Babylo11, and in their utter delolation, both by Titul and VefPajiJII, 2 Chron. j6. 16. They mocl1,fd hir meffingm, and de(pi{d hi1 word, and mifufid hi1 Propbet1 , until the rprath oftbe Lord arofe againft them, tiU ther• w01 no remedy. And as to their tina! deltn>fri·>n, Matt h. 2 3· 3 6. our Saviour alfures it, 'Ihey kjU<d the Pr •pbell, and (toned them that were font to them, 3 8.. Behold your houfi is left unt• you drfolate . And the fame may be obfer"ed ofpHticular perfons engaged in Pcrfecution; ufually God fulfers them to run into that rnadnefsfor a complement of their wickednefs, beftlre he intendeth to cut them otf. Add to this, that it is rare but thofe whom G,Jd fuffers thus to fcourg.e his people , highly incenfed God, by over-atfing their part. God for this reproved the Ifraelitn of old, 2 Chron. 2 8. 9· Beh•Jd, becaufe the Lord God of your F atbrfl WJI angry wllh 1udab ,he hJtb d;livered them into y•ur band1, andym have f!JiH thrm 'R'itb 4ragethat reacbeib up to Heaven. Obferve that' T ext, God was angry with Judah, and God delivered th em into their en emies hand s ; but he did not like this, that they !hould dellroy. them in fuch a rage as they. did. God being a>Jgry witli his Church, and ·having at the Iinne rime alfo •. ddign to punifu a . wick ed Gen eration,may deliver his-own people into rbeir hand>;· fo as they may fmite them, but they murt take heed how they do it. For when God hath made ufe of his enemies to chafiife hi< p~ople, he will n:o ll certainly pani!h them,l{.t o. r 2. Wberrfo rt ilfkaU come to p4i, that wbrn the Lord bath perf ormed his whole wor~ upm m01<11t Zion a11d upo11 Hiernf"lem, I wiU punifo t/g fr uit of tbe Jl•ut heart of · tbt c· |